Nach Yomi

A messenger of G-d spoke to the people. (While the Hebrew word “malach” often refers to a Heavenly angel, it literally means a messenger. The Targum translates this as a “prophet” and Vayikra Rabbah and Seder Olam both state that it was Pinchas, the High Priest.) The messenger (Pinchas) chastised the people for not chasing […]

Following the death of Joshua, the Jews consulted G-d via the Urim and Tumim to see which Tribe should be the first to conquer remaining Canaanite pockets within their territory. The first role fell to the Tribe of Judah. Judah invited Simeon to join them as Simeon’s cities were scattered throughout the portion of Judah. […]

Joshua gathered the people in Shechem and gave a recap of Jewish history to that point:. Terach was an idolator, but G-d chose his son Abraham and promised the land of Canaan to his descendants. Abraham had Isaac, Isaac had Jacob and Esau, Jacob and his family went down to Egypt… (If this sounds familiar, […]

At age 110, Joshua realized that he wouldn’t live much longer, so he gave words of encouragement to the Jewish people. He reminded them of all Hashem did for them and urged them to be strong in their observance of the Torah. Joshua restated the prohibition on intermarriage, found in the Torah in parshas Va’eschanan. […]

Now that all 12 Tribes received their land, the men of Reuben, Gad and half of Menashe moved into their portions. Almost immediately, however, there was an enormous problem, as these two and a half Tribes assembled a giant altar on the eastern side of the Jordan River. This was a huge source of concern […]

Next, the leaders of the Tribe of Levi approached Elazar and Joshua to apportion to them the cities and fields promised to them in parshas Masei. The Leviim were divided into four groups: the Kohanim, the rest of the descendants of Kehos, the descendants of Gershon and the descendants of Merari. Each of these groups […]

Now that all 12 Tribes were settled in their portions, it was time to designate the cities of refuge as Hashem commanded Moshe in parshas Masei. These were cities where those who killed accidentally would flee. They would have to reside there until the death of the Kohein Gadol (High Priest). What did the High […]

Next came the portion of Shimon (Simeon), which, oddly enough, was scattered throughout the portion of Judah. One reason is given in the text of the Navi itself: Judah’s territory was simply too big for a single Tribe. Another reason can be found in the brachos (blessings) given to the 12 sons of Jacob by […]

The Tribes of Judah and the sons of Joseph were settled in their territory, as were the Tribes with land in Trans-Jordan. Since Levi did not have a territory, this left seven Tribes waiting to receive their portions. Joshua had each of these Tribes select three members who would survey the land and describe its […]

Continuing the territory of Joseph’s sons, the Navi moves on the half of the Tribe of Menashe that did not settle in Trans-Jordan. Elazar the High Priest and Joshua were now approached by the daughters of Tzelofchad. You may recall that these five women approached Moshe in parshas Pinchas, saying that their deceased father had […]